NSF GRFP 2010

[Rails111]

March is the month we've been waiting for! Who has applied? Who wants to make bets on when we'll hear?

[electricfan]

I applied, but my application was not strong. I believe we will hear back on Monday, March 29.

[Rails111]

I applied, but my application was not strong. I believe we will hear back on Monday, March 29.

Why don't you think it's strong? To which field did you apply?

Argh...i checked the other NSF forums...could be april too

[hkitsune]

I applied! I have alright GREs (1350, 760 math, 5.5 analytical), a strong GPA (3.88 at time of application), really strong recommendations, and a pretty strong statement and proposal. I spent forever talking about the broader impacts and scientific merit in all my sections, and may have written two or three drafts before submission. I don't know that I've got a stronger application compared to anyone else, especially since I'm still in undergrad, but I do think I wrote some pretty coherent material.

We'll see how it goes. I'm pretty nervous about the whole ordeal. Coming into this straight out of undergrad seems to always give me this inferiority complex.

[Rails111]

I applied! I have alright GREs (1350, 760 math, 5.5 analytical), a strong GPA (3.88 at time of application), really strong recommendations, and a pretty strong statement and proposal. I spent forever talking about the broader impacts and scientific merit in all my sections, and may have written two or three drafts before submission. I don't know that I've got a stronger application compared to anyone else, especially since I'm still in undergrad, but I do think I wrote some pretty coherent material.

We'll see how it goes. I'm pretty nervous about the whole ordeal. Coming into this straight out of undergrad seems to always give me this inferiority complex.

Yeah, same here, except for the GRE. I've never done well on standardized exams; had trouble breaking 1000 the first time around. I read about the GRFP from (at least) 40 different sources before applying and spoke with around 20 past panelists. They all pretty much said the same thing...this fellowship is funding the person so, hypothetically, if there are two people they're deciding between, then the one who has lower scores will get chosen IF his/her broader impacts are substantially stronger. I was kind of a creep and looked at a bunch of current grad student CV's who got honorable mention and some of them were from stanford with around 4 publications and incredibly strong scores so i'm willing to bet that the reason they didn't get one was b/c of broader impacts. I feel as if it's one of the deal-breakers.

BTW, I got into grad school straight from undergrad and that inferiority complex doesn't really go away. My advisor is well-known in the field and she even talks about getting the impostor syndrome from time to time. It comes with the territory. Anyway, you're right, it is a little harder to get the NSF at your stage, but you seem as if you'd be in that shoo-in top 7%. If not, you'll still have 2 more tries. If you give me your email address, I'm willing to exchange applications/essays and compare.

On an unrelated note, I find it irritating that clinical people are applying and GETTING the NSF - they're taking their previous research and spinning it as social psych. I know a couple clinical students on fellowship...and if I know a couple, then it's a sure bet that there are more out there...grrr.

[jamiemmt]

I applied in computer science; my stats are good but my research is what got me into grad school. I presume the whole "I tutor and mentor young women in math, and want to keep doing that" line is a bit hackey, but since it is true, I am not overly worried. I don't need the fellowship but it would be useful for my future adviser.

On an unrelated note, does anyone know when the AT&T fellowships are announced?

[jamiemmt]

I applied in computer science; my stats are good but my research is what got me into grad school. I presume the whole "I tutor and mentor young women in math, and want to keep doing that" line is a bit hackey, but since it is true, I am not overly worried. I don't need the fellowship but it would be useful for my future adviser.

On an unrelated note, does anyone know when the AT&T fellowships are announced?

[hkitsune]

On an unrelated note, I find it irritating that clinical people are applying and GETTING the NSF - they're taking their previous research and spinning it as social psych. I know a couple clinical students on fellowship...and if I know a couple, then it's a sure bet that there are more out there...grrr.

I totally understand this. The website explicitly says that clinical isn't the place for this, and anyone in clinical should know that NIH is more important. But people will do what they want.

I'm also somewhat hoping that since funding for the NSF GRFP went up this year, and there should be more awards, I won't have to worry as much, but we'll see. It's good practice to write this sort of thing anyway.